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Friday

Tonight, I finally got around to watching Made in Dagenham. I wanted to see it when it was first released back in 2010 but I just never got around to it.

If you don't know, it's about the 1968 strike at Ford Dagenham where the women working in the factory went on strike for the right to equal pay. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it. It's an empowering little film.

I also have quite an attachment to Dagenham as I lived there for 3 months during a school placement earlier this year. The best chicken shop in the world is there (opposite the garage attached to Wood Lane Morrison's, if you're interested). The man in there always gave me an extra hot wing and I had Chicken Wednesday every week. Anyway, I digress. (Though it was amazing chicken).

As it's set in the last years of the 60s, it also has an amazing wardrobe department! I've been obsessed with the 60s since I was a little girl so this film has really inspired me.

Here are just some of my favourite looks.

1. I have just bought a Topshop skirt in the sales. However, although it's a lovely shape, it is brown and I've never worn brown before. I was at a bit of a loss as to what to wear with it and then Rita, the heroine of the film, turns up wearing this almost identical skirt:Conveniently, I have a vintage white broderie Anglais blouse lurking in the spare room somewhere. I reckon I could team it with a white cardigan (I have one of those too) for a warm winter look.

Rita (played by Sally Hawkins) is a striking factory worker so she wears the same clothes time and again in the film- a detail that I think many costume designers forget about. Later in the film she teams the skirt with a white polo shirt and a floral blouse, both accompanied by a white belt.

2. Rita does own some more fancy clothes though. Here she is in a gorgeous powder blue minidress with lace collar and sleeves.

Interestingly, that lovely last image shows Eastbourne pier in almost the identical spot that my fiance proposed to me (we were on a hotel balcony just behind shot).

3. Jaime Winstone appears in this film as aspiring model Sally. Sally loves her miniskirts and she loves to be noticed. As she says "This ain't Knightsbridge, this is Dagenham. If you want to get spotted, then you got to stand out that little bit more".These floral hotpants are incredible. If only I had the legs to pull off something like that!4. My favourite styling goes to Brenda (Andrea Riseborough). Her beehive is incredible and she has such a sassy style. This black and yellow outfit is my absolute favourite from the whole film.

Apart from the clothes, there are also some amazing hairstyles, particularly from the posh, wealthy Lisa (Rosamund Pike). I actually have a pair of earrings similar to these which makes me very excited!Then there's this cute ponyail style which is lovely. I'll give it a go soon, I think. It looks fairly simple.I couldn't possibly begin to list every style tip or idea I got from this film. There's just too much to see at once. I'll have to watch it another couple of times to take it all in. For now, though, I have plenty of ideas to play around with.

Becky.
xx

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Tuesday

I got this amazing dalmatian print coat from my mum for Christmas (don't worry- it's fake!) and I wanted an excuse to wear it.

I was chanelling a 1960s barmaid vibe. I have really curly hair but I spent about an hour straightening it last night so I could get this beehive style. I knew it wouldn't stay straight overnight but that was fine as I was going for a wavy texture. It's usually much curlier than this.

I'm Becky, I'm 23 years old and I'm a primary school teacher living in the south of England.

I love fashion, my camera and Diet Pepsi.

Oh, and this is me:

I'm attempting a 365 project next year to improve my skills in using the Nikon I bought almost a year ago and hardly use. I'll be taking one photo every day, armed with my limited knowledge of Photoshop from a 5 year old graphic design A level, and posting it up here.

One of the most fun things about teaching is trying to find decent clothes to wear. There are many challenges I face in choosing an outfit- not too short, not too low cut, not too tight, no light colours (paint and felt tip pens are abound), no vintage, nothing too flowy (playground duty on a windy day would spell disaster in a flippy skirt), nothing too extravagant and, as my school's colour is red, nothing red. Unfortunately red happens to be my favourite colour but I really don't fancy being confused for one of the children.

With this extensive- but not exhaustive- list, choosing nice outfits that reflect my own style is tricky. It's very easy to fall into the "teacher trap" of grey trousers and a plain jumper. I am determined not to let this happen to me so every morning I will snap a quick shot of myself as I leave and post the photos up here.

I think that's everything you need to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check out the Topshop sale.